I’ve had a few cats who taught themselves to fetch- and never considered it beneath them to do it! It’s a great party act. Now, maybe he’ll teach himself to use the toilet- I have a cat who can; the others regard it as a spectator sport and will line up to watch. Glad you kept him- he’s a hoot and absolutely adorable (not that the others aren’t). Hope the others are accepting him more-happy 4th! Waiting for my rocket launcher for the coming Civil War.

Many years, ago, we had a cat named Boots who would fetch under one very specific circumstance. My mother was living with us while undergoing an intensive course of chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. During the period of chemo-crash after each treatment, she’d go through a week or so not able to do anything but lie on the sofa, completely enervated by the poisons that were trying to eradicate the malignancies.

When she was flattened that way, Boots would go hunt up one of his fuzzy balls and bring it to her. She’d summon up enough energy to lob it across the living room, and he’d bound after it. He’d usually catch it mid-air, and he’d come straight back to the sofa, hop up on top of her as she lay there, and drop the ball on her chest. She’d raise one arm just far enough to toss it across the living room, he’d go bounding after it, and bring it back to drop on her chest again.

They’d keep that up for hours at a time. She told me later that Boots and his game of Fetch was one of the only things that got her through those months. And he’d never play Fetch for anyone else, or even for her if she was up and about.

When I first glanced at the text on the email I ever so briefly thought it said, “Here’s Smudge playing French Horn.” I realize that’s quite a step up from playing catch, so I’ll give it awhile but I’m holding out hope that he eventually gets there. “Lessons, daddy? Please? I wanna grow up to be like John Entwistle!”

Many years ago, I had a cat named Munchkin that played fetch. Munch-a-bunch fetched balled up paper. Whenever something came out of the printer and subsequently was to be discarded, we’d crumple the paper, and Munch would appear, drooling (literally) with anticipation.

Actually, it was less that he played fetch as it was he taught his humans to throw paper balls when he brought them to us.

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